They Live in the Grey (2022) Dir. Abel Vang & Burlee Vang

“I see things people aren’t supposed to see”.

Hmmm. Sound familiar? Well, lots more will too in this new horror flick released by Shudder.

Seeing dead people has been a staple of horror throughout many years and brotherly directors Abel and Burlee Vang hope to give their own unique spin on haunted visions in their latest.

It opens with a shocking attempt at suicide that leaves a character crying out at her failure and we discover this is disturbed mother Claire Young. She is a social worker who sees dark dreams in her waking life that regularly connect her to the spirit world.

Claire (emotionally played well by Michelle Krusiec) is also haunted by the real-life memory of losing her son 10 years ago. She is then asked by her work to help a family situation that appears, on the surface, to be an obvious case of domestic abuse. But could there be more going on?

Well, their child (Madelyn Grace as Sophie) is withdrawn and has bruises on her body and Claire tries to balance her own heartache with a solution to this supernatural aggressor. Her desire to do good versus the death of her child (which she blames herself for) link the two families as the malevolent spirit does its thing.

There’s a subplot about a failing marriage with her policeman husband (Ken Kirby) which tries to show the lasting effects of grief and long-term pain held within oneself too.

Yet it doesn’t steer too far from the stock tropes – grieving mother, living alone, old-timey house, visions from the past – which is the film’s eventual downfall.

Babadook, Goodnight Mommy, Shut In, The Curse Of La Llorona, Mama, The Hole in the Ground, heck even The Shining. You could argue that the horror genre is fertile ground for exploring themes of motherhood, loss and grief. You could also argue it’s been done to literal and metaphorical death making it one of the most obvious clichés in the genre.

Sadly, this film falls mostly in the latter. Shots of staring into distance, the connection with a surrogate child, the protective nature from a supernatural force – it’s all there for sure. And at an extended 2 hours, boy is it also far too long. A slow burn for sure. But this is like an everlasting bonfire of despair. Intentional? Maybe. Entertaining or engaging? Partly. But I often realised I was tuning out of the onslaught of repeated dejection.

The production is of a high quality though and my lack of engagement with the stereotypical story takes nothing from the filmmakers' admirable cinematography and technical work. And it has to be said, the actors’ fine attempts to dig up more depth to its well-worn aspects are more than commendable.

However, as it wraps up, the film’s investigation of themes around isolation is a legitimate attempt to hang the horror on. But overall, I found They Live in the Grey’s bleak and dreary outlook ultimately uninviting, not helped by the elongated runtime and elements seen a thousand times before.

★★

2/5

Michael Sales